Rajkowski column: Cathedral's Yoerg ready for state, then SJU

For many incoming college football recruits, their future head coaches are still largely just names on the letter outlining the summer conditioning program.

Brady Yoerg's, on the other hand, was there on the field helping organize the team photo after he and his St. Cloud Cathedral teammates won the Section 6-2A baseball title last week.

There's a reason for that, of course. The head coach in question, Gary Fasching of St. John's, doubles as the proud parent of Yoerg's friend and teammate — Crusaders standout pitcher Jeff Fasching.

And while Jeff Fasching — who has lost only one game in his entire four-year prep career (as a freshman) — will go on to pitch at the University of Minnesota next season, Yoerg is headed to Collegeville to play football for Fasching's father.

"That definitely helped out a lot in the recruiting process, no doubt," said Yoerg, whose team (24-1) is the top seed in this week's Class 2A state tournament and will take on Blake (19-6) in the quarterfinals at 10 a.m. Thursday at Dick Putz Field.

"It's good to know I'm going to a place with a head coach I'm already very comfortable with."

Yoerg,, a 6-foot, 175-pound wide receiver, caught 74 passes for 1,047 yards and 11 touchdowns last season (with Jeff Fasching as his quarterback) and earned a spot on the Times' All-Area team. He was also the receiver of the year in the Granite Ridge Conference.

And wide receiver is the position where he is expected to start off with the Johnnies.

"That's where they're looking at me," Yoerg said. "That's the spot where I feel the most comfortable."

But before his college football career begins in August, there is still baseball to focus on. And Yoerg and his Cathedral teammates still recall a 2-0 loss to eventual state champion Kasson-Mantorville in the state semifinals a year ago.

This time around, they are looking to go even further.

"That game is kind of fueling us this year," said Yoerg, who had a two-run single in his team's 6-0 victory over Little Falls in the section title game last Thursday and is batting a team-best .519. "We felt like we were the better team. So to lose that game hurt. But it's just giving us even more motivation this season."

A state title would be the eighth in the Cathedral coaching tenure of head coach Bob Karn — who became the winningest coach in state prep baseball history with his 708th career victory in the win over Little Falls last week.

"Getting the chance to play for him has been so great," said Yoerg, who will play American Legion and amateur baseball this summer, but has still not decided if he will play that sport at St. John's.

"It's not just his knowledge of the game, but his knowledge about life. It's always been more than just about baseball with Mr. Karn."

Yoerg has one more week remaining under Karn's tutelage. Then he'll have another head coach come next fall — a coach he's known for many years simply as Jeff's dad.

"That's going to be really fun," Yoerg said. "I'm going to get to see a different side of him that I haven't seen before. That first practice is going to be really exciting. I'm sure it will be all business when we get on the field. He'll be my coach then — not my friend's dad. But I'm looking forward to it."

This is the opinion of Times sports writer Frank Rajkowski. Contact him at 255-8772 or at frajkowski@stcloudtimes.com. Read his blog at www.sctimes.com or follow him on Twitter at @rajko1973.